


Unfinished

by babs



Category: Stargate SG-1
Genre: Danielisdifferent, Hurt/Comfort, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-09
Updated: 2016-10-09
Packaged: 2018-08-20 10:45:38
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,684
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8246144
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/babs/pseuds/babs
Summary: Years after a life-altering event, Jack realizes what's lost, but more importantly what's gained.





	

"Knock, knock," Jack said and then opened the door to Daniel's office before the other man responded. 

Daniel was bent over his work table, five books open in front of him, and various notebooks scattered across the table. "Hey," he said without looking up. "I have to finish this and get it to SG-10 before they leave on their mission."

Jack went to Daniel's desk chair, sat down, spun it a couple of times. 

"If you distract me, it's going to take longer." Daniel still didn't look up. "Give me thirty minutes."

Thirty minutes. Jack looked around the crowded office. He wasn't good at waiting but thirty minutes wasn't that long. Right?

"And don't touch anything," Daniel warned, his attention still on the books.

Jack spun the chair away from his view of Daniel and took a book off Daniel's desk. At least he could read for a bit.

* * * *

"You ready?" Daniel placed a hand on Jack's shoulder. 

Jack looked up from the book he'd been reading. He hadn't understood a lot of it except that it was about the Etruscans. He smiled up at Daniel, placed his hand over the warm, flesh covered one resting on his shoulder and looked into silver eyes. "Yeah."

He swallowed hard as he stood and watched Daniel pile his research to one side of the table and snatch up the report for SG-10 with burnished metal fingers.

"Let's go," Daniel said. One thing Jack would give Daniel—when he decided to actually get moving, Daniel didn't waste any time. Within fifteen minutes they were out of the base and in Jack's truck heading home.

Jack snuck a glance at Daniel when they got stopped in traffic. His hand was encased in a form fitting black glove, his eyes hidden by sunglasses despite the darkness outside and the tight lines around his mouth indicated a headache or other stress.

"It's okay," Jack said. "You can turn them off."

Daniel said nothing but Jack heard the barely there sigh, and Daniel reached over to briefly touch Jack's hand with cool metal that could be felt through the glove. Daniel pulled his hand back and removed the glove. Pinpricks of light came from Daniel's side of the truck as he peeled back the metal skin and pressed a button before the glove was hastily replaced.

"Carter and Teal'c wanted us to meet them at the new Indian place," Jack said. "I can call..."

"No. I'm up for it. You'll have to..." Daniel made a gesture towards his face. "I'm not familiar with their menu."

"I know," Jack said. "I shouldn't have asked you to..."

"I needed to," Daniel said. "Sometimes the input is just too much. I think I was headed for overload."

Jack gritted his teeth and concentrated on the traffic. It was the anniversary. An anniversary he wasn't sure he wanted to remember. He stayed silent while he listened to Daniel quietly hum some tune that he didn't recognize and fought the churning in his gut.

* * * *

The dinner with Carter and Teal'c went well. The lines that had indicated Daniel's distress earlier were gone with the laughter and light chatter that had filled their evening. Still—Daniel was tired. Jack could see it in the way his flesh and blood hand shook slightly as he raised his glass to his mouth, the tilt of his head to follow the conversation, and the careful way he touched the table and silverware to keep himself oriented. But then he'd look at the light of Daniel's smile despite everything and his heart would beat just a bit faster, his mind would race with the thoughts of how very lucky he was that Daniel was here and alive. Alive and whole—altered but still whole.

Daniel hugged Carter tightly as they said their good nights—the weekend beckoned now that SG-1 was no longer a front line team.

"You okay?" Daniel asked, his hand on Jack's elbow as Jack led the way to the truck.

"Sure," Jack said. "Watch out. The sidewalk is uneven." He stopped a moment while Daniel readjusted his balance. 

"No," Daniel said as they resumed their walk. "What's wrong?"

Jack said nothing. 

"Jack," Daniel said when they got to the truck. "My eyes might not be working at the moment, so I can't see your face, but I know you. Something's up." He climbed in the truck.

Jack started the truck and placed his forehead on the steering wheel."Just tired I guess."

"Okay," Daniel said but Jack knew he didn't believe him for a moment. He reached out, patted the seat next to Jack's thigh and Jack took his hand before briefly touching Daniel's cheek. 

"I love you," Jack said.

Daniel smiled beneath his fingers, covered Jack's hand with his. "Love you too."

Jack drove despite the unshed tears burning his eyes.

* * * *

Daniel stood by the refrigerator door—glass of water in hand. "Out with it. What's wrong?" The frustration in his voice caused it to go slightly higher.

"Out with it?" Jack busied himself at the sink—rearranging the hand soap, adjusting the faucet, hanging the dishcloth perfectly. 

"I'm blind, Jack. Not stupid." Daniel unerringly clamped his hand on Jack's wrist. "Talk to me," his voice softened. "Please."

Jack looked at the very human fingers wrapped around his wrist, twisted his own to clasp that hand in his.

"I can't help who...what I am now," Daniel said, infinite sadness.

Jack switched his gaze to a much beloved face, took off Daniel's sunglasses and brought his hand up to rest on Daniel's cheek. He stared into silver eyes that currently could not look back.

"It's the anniversary," Jack said, his breath coming out harsh.

"Anniversary?" Daniel pursed his lips. "And I forgot to get you a present?"

"No," Jack said it far sharper than he wanted. He took Daniel's metal fingers in his. "Three years ago today we found you again." His breath caught in his throat. "We found you after nearly five months of searching."

Daniel smiled, stepped closer to Jack. "You found me. Saved me from..." He made a sweeping gesture. "Well more of me being lost."

Jack shook his head, then realized Daniel couldn't see the movement. "Saved you? We didn't find you soon enough. You're..."

The gentle expression on Daniel's face turned to one of anger. "My body, Jack? My unfinished transformation? Do I disgust you that much?" He pulled away, turned and walked from the kitchen, hand trailing on the wall. 

Jack stood, eyes burning, chest tight, and listened to the tread of Daniel's feet on the stairs and then the slam of the bedroom door.

"You are one stupid son of a bitch, O'Neill," Jack said aloud and then followed.

* * * *

"Daniel." Jack leaned against the door, suddenly hesitant to enter the bedroom they shared.

"I wouldn't lock you out," Daniel's voice sounded tired...no, more than tired...weary. 

Jack entered the room, turned on the light and sat down on the bed beside Daniel who lay curled on his side.

"Danny."

"Do you think..." Daniel sat up, moved away from Jack. "I thought you..." He shook his head. There were tears in Daniel's voice, in every small gesture—tears that Daniel no longer could shed. 

"We...no, I failed you." Jack reached out and let his hand fall when Daniel stood. "I regret that every day."

"I thought you accepted this...accepted me," Daniel said. He crossed his arms over his chest. "The way I am now." He tilted his chin up, defiance or defense—Jack wasn't sure.

"Do you think this is the way..." Jack stopped. "Shit."

"Yeah. I guess I know the truth," Daniel said, his voice gone quiet. "I'm sorry I'm damaged goods."

From anyone else, the words would have been a plea for pity. From Daniel, they were a sincere apology. 

"Listen to me," Jack said. "I've never had your skill with words. You don't remember the first days, the first weeks after we found you, recovered you. We didn't know the extent of what they'd done to you." Jack felt his hands begin to shake and pressed them between his thighs. "When Fraiser found the implants, when she and the other doctors realized they'd gone into your brain, your nervous system, when they discovered the artificial heart..." Daniel might not remember, but he did. In vivid detail, in technicolor nightmares he'd hidden from his friend, his lover for three years.  
He looked at Daniel through tear-filled eyes. "They experimented on you and I can't forgive that." To his horror, he felt the tears spill over. 

"Jack," Daniel knelt before him, hands placed on his knees. "You don't need to forgive them—you need to forgive yourself." 

"I can't," Jack said. "They took so much from you." He thought of Daniel's eyes—machines really—no longer anything like normal human vision, the left arm replaced with a metal alloy one from shoulder to fingers, parts of Daniel's nervous system now controlled with buttons hidden beneath the metal skin of Daniel's left hand, the artifical heart that pumped blood and other more alien fluids through Daniel's circulatory system, his left leg and hip the same metal alloy as the arm, and internal organs altered in ways that the best scientists at the SGC still didn't understand. He began to shake and his stomach twisted. 

"You were there for me," Daniel said. "Look at me. You were there for me—I remember that much."

He'd never cried in front of Daniel since they'd found him. He'd held in the fear that Daniel would be taken away, experimented on by their own people, that being taken from the alien lab would kill him, that the alien tech would fail after a few short weeks or months or years and no one would be able to save him. 

"Look at me, Jack," Daniel said again, command, not request. "Do you only see this?" He gestured at his eyes with the metal hand. "Where it matters, I'm still the same person I was before..." he took a breath, "before all of this."

Jack could no longer keep back the tears. He placed trembling fingers against Daniel's cheek. "I know. I know you are. I...you're...how can *you* forgive me?"

Daniel turned into the touch, held Jack's hand in place. "You saved me. You and Sam and Teal'c and all the doctors at the SGC, but mostly you. I'm unfinished because of you. They wouldn't have stopped until my body was totally replaced. You saved me, Jack. There was nothing to forgive. There *is* nothing to forgive." He used his other hand to wipe away Jack's tears. "You were right. I can't remember much of those first days back, but I do remember you being there. You were always there. When I learned how to see again with different eyes, when I finally realized what their experiments meant, you were there. With me. Telling me you would stay." He shook his head and smiled softly. "You believed, made *me* believe that everything would work out."

Jack leaned forward, rested his head on Daniel's shoulder, closed his eyes, and breathed in the unique scent that was his friend, his lover, his partner. He turned his head slightly, pressed a kiss to slightly damp, salty skin. He felt a shudder run through Daniel's body.

"So it's like that, huh," Daniel murmured, his breath warm on Jack's chilled skin. He brought his hands up, began to unbutton Jack's shirt.

Jack fell back, relished the touch, alien and human on his now bare skin. He brought his own hands up as Daniel moved onto the bed, let his fingers trail over Daniel's body, hard planes and muscle. He tugged on Daniel's t-shirt, pulled it from khakis and unbuckled Daniel's belt.

"Not so fast," Daniel said. "No rush."

Jack grunted and moved his attention to his own clothes as Daniel stripped off his own. He made no move to turn off the bedside lamp and just looked. Really looked at Daniel—at the sleek silver of an arm that functioned better than any Earth-made prosthetic—the metal almost appearing liquid in the light, fingers that were as nimble as Daniel's human ones. He trailed fingers over the sleek smooth alien metal of Daniel's left hip and down the plane of a rigid thigh. Daniel's left foot bumped against his, cool silk. Daniel's very human knee pushed between Jack's thighs, warm and hairy and bony and Jack groaned as Daniel closed warm fingers over his cock. 

"Hmm..." Daniel cocked his head. "You like that, huh?"

Jack entangled his hands in Daniel's hair, longer than it had been for years. "Just..."

Daniel leaned down, his mouth against Jack's, teeth and tongue and spice, while he began to stroke. 

Jack shuddered under the onslaught, his spine tingling, and then, oh God, oh God, Daniel moved the attention of his ever so clever tongue to Jack's cock.

Jack dug fists into the bedsheets and lifted his hips. Any word, any attempt at articulation was reduced to panting and inarticulate groans. Jack heard Daniel laugh and he reveled in the sound. Daniel placed hands against Jack's hips, steadied him with steel and flesh and...

Jack felt himself spin into a whirlwind of sensation as Daniel took him fully into his mouth. He felt a sob well up in his chest, emotion and love overwhelming his senses, his body even as he came and then Daniel was covering him, chest against chest, body pressed tight on his, legs tangled with his, smooth cool and rough heat and he couldn't tell where one of them began and the other ended.

"Don't, Jack, don't," Daniel murmured as he kissed away each tear. "Please baby." The use of that word so rare from Daniel that Jack found himself catching his breath.

Jack gripped Daniel tighter and Daniel held on as the storm of guilt and then benediction and love assaulted him.

At some point, Jack realized their positions had reversed, and he was resting half on top of Daniel. Daniel ran his fingers over Jack's back, still murmuring words of comfort. Jack hiccuped once, twice and opened eyes that felt swollen.

He gave Daniel a gentle kiss. "I'm..."

Daniel frowned and placed a finger against Jack's lips. "Don't you dare apologize for a thing."

Jack swallowed, and Daniel smiled then. 

"If there is one thing I regret about this...about everything," Daniel said, "it's that I can't *see* you the way I used to."

"I don't think you're missing that much," Jack said and rolled off Daniel to lie on his side. He touched Daniel's lips, traced them.

"Don't be a smart-ass," Daniel said with the merest hint of laughter.

Jack suddenly felt very tired. "You were wrong," he said after a yawn.

"Yeah?"

"About being unfinished," Jack said. "Unless you want to count me too."

Daniel frowned. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"We're all of us works in progress," Jack said. "Your unfinished-ness..."

"Unfinshed-ness?" Daniel interrupted.

"Your unfinished-ness," Jack continued, "just happens to be on the outside while some of us are way more unfinished on the inside."

Daniel was silent, his lips pursed in thought—an expression so familiar and dear that Jack smiled just watching.

"Maybe we're all just the way we're meant to be," Daniel finally said. "Or maybe not but people love us anyway."

"And maybe we're talking about things way too deep post-sex," Jack said as he moved even closer to Daniel, rested his head against Daniel's chest. He closed his eyes as Daniel stroked his fingers on Jack's head, soothing and gentle and understanding. 

He listened as the room fell silent, to Daniel's deep even breaths, the swoosh of tires as a car went down the street, and to the hum/whisper of the artificial heart that had replaced Daniel's human one—a different comfort than one he'd known in the past but comfort all the same. Jack felt himself drifting off as he tangled Daniel's fingers in his own—unfinished---the same as every best love story.

**Author's Note:**

> Entry for the android/robots prompt on my H/C bingo card.


End file.
